Nevada Supreme Court denies O.J.’s bid for release

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CARSON CITY – The Nevada Supreme Court has denied the petition of former football great O.J. Simpson to be released on bail from prison pending his appeal on convictions of robbery and kidnapping in Las Vegas.

The court upheld District Judge Jackie Glass, who said Simpson and co-defendant Clarence Stewart both posed a flight risk.

The court in its twin orders Friday quoted from a prior ruling that a defendant “who has been convicted of a violent, serious offense and who faces a substantial term of imprisonment will shoulder a heavy burden” to demonstrate both factors weigh in favor of allowing bail pending appeal.

The court said Simpson and Stewart were “convicted of serious nonprobationable violent offenses, committed with the use of a firearm.”

The denial to both petitions was signed by Justices Michael Cherry, Nancy Saitta and Mark Gibbons.

Simpson is 62 years old and is held at the state prison in Lovelock. Stewart is 55 and is in prison at the Northern Nevada Correction Center in Carson City.

They were convicted of 12 counts including robbery, first-degree kidnapping and using a deadly weapon.

Simpson and Stewart were found guilty of leading a group of men who used threats, guns and force to take photographs, footballs and other items from memorabilia dealers Bruce Fromong and Al Beardsley in September 2007 in a Las Vegas hotel room.

They were sentenced to a minimum of nine years and a maximum of 33 years in prison.